Thursday, July 14, 2016

I know, I know. The world is a little messed up right now. Okay, a lot messed up. It seems like every time we turn the news on, another tragic event is unfolding somewhere in the nation. Events that have happened before and that are further dividing us and pitting us against each other. In other countries, we see that everyday citizens continue to get hurt and killed, yet nothing seems to be getting better. When we look to the government for help, we see name-calling, stereotyping and greed rather than guidance, hope and answers. We look to our education in hopes of growing and learning. Instead, we find extreme pressure, standardized testing and the need to excel at everything and more in order to pursue a college. And, once we are in college, we find that we are pushed on paths to study whatever is most practical for the job market rather than what is our passion, leaving us feeling unmotivated and stripped of creativity and excitement. We look at our environment, and see that we are destroying it. We are contaminating the air, pouring cement over the earth every chance we can get, cutting down trees and polluting the ocean when we know we have the technology and intelligence to avoid doing so. When we look around us, we see our heads looking down, staring at our phones, stuck in social media and false realities that keep us from living in the moment and interacting with the world. Our world is not the world we thought it would be when we were young. We thought we could be anything and do anything. We thought adults were there to protect us. They were smart, strong, and selfless. They could solve any problem we had. The world is not right.

Okay, did that cover everything? I get it. That is how we feel sometimes, maybe all the time. But, it's time to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. A teacher once asked my class, "How come your generation isn't scared?" She explained how back when she was a young adult, they were worried about everything. Terrified for their futures and for the future of the country. In that moment, I thought the answer was that we weren't scared because we were different. We were strong, smart, creative and prepared. We could take on anything. We were problem-solvers. We were hopeful. Maybe a little too idealistic, maybe naive. But, we were still hopeful. However, now, I find myself coming up with a new answer. Maybe, we just don't care. Maybe we pretend to care. Posting articles on Facebook, complaining about the elections on Twitter, joking about getting no jobs after college to each other...Are we hopeless? It's time to start acting like we thought adults were supposed to act. It's time we start being smart. We need to be strong. We need to be selfless. I know we can be these things. I know other generations make fun of us. They say that we are lazy, absorbed in technology, unable to communicate, entitled and lack motivation. Let's prove them wrong. Let's use the technology to create things, things that can better the world. Let's be creative. Let's be hard-working. Let's do these things for each other. Let's be problem-solvers. We have a lot of problems right now, but there have always been problems in the world. Let's solve them.

Friday, July 8, 2016

There are stories all around us. As I drive in the car and glance into the window of the car beside me, I see a family. A mom, dad, and two kids in the back seat. That family has a story. The parents have a story. I wonder, how did they meet? Where did they grow up? What have they been through? Within that one car is an endless amount of stories waiting to be shared. This has been something I have always been curious about. I have found wonder in the stories of others for as long as I can remember. Since I was young, I would imagine what the lives of perfect strangers were like. Walking through the park with my parents, I would create these stories for whoever I happened to see. This has always amazed me. It is crazy to think about really. A lot of the time, people do not see value in their own personal experiences, lives and journeys. They don't think that their stories are worth being told or listened to. I've sometimes felt this way about myself. Sometimes, I spend so much time comparing myself and my own life to others. I devalue my own experiences. I take away from what I have gone through. I've believed that my life isn't worth sharing with someone else. How could it be? It's just me, right? Wrong. Every story is worth being told. Every person's life is worth being listened to. We can learn from every person's journey. They are all different. All unique and all impact the world, in some way or another. Take a minute and think about this. Think about how, as you walk down the street, go to a concert packed with thousands of people, fly on a plane or go to work, every single person has a story. We have all been through hard times. We have all gone through the best times. We have all done something we regret and we all have done something we are proud of. This is important. So, open your eyes. See how many stories there are out there. And, open your ears. Listen. Listen to these stories. Maybe someone will then listen to yours.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Hey there. Tonight I just wanted to get a few thoughts out of my head. The topic: moms. The concept of being a mom is so amazing, scary, wonderful, confusing, and so much more. Imagine how beautiful the relationship between a mother and her daughter could be, or really any parent to their child. It does not even have to be a parent, but anyone who cares for a child, raises them, guides them and helps them. It was a strange day when I realized that my mom was a person, not just my mom. She had an entire life before me. She once was a young innocent kid. At one point a lost, confused teen. Maybe then even a more lost young adult trying to pave her life. She is a person. She is far from just being a mom. However, that is all I know her to be. She has emotions, pain, funny quirks, likes and dislikes, dreams, and many things that scare her. My mom is so smart. I didn't realize this until lately. If she puts her mind to something, she can do almost anything. However, almost is the key word here. It was a strange day when I found out that my mom cannot do everything. She messes up sometimes. Makes mistakes. She is a person just like me. It was a strange day when I realized that my mom was also like a friend to me. I remember leaving for college and she asked sadly what she was going to do without her best friend. That opened my eyes a lot. My mom is my mom. But, she is also like my best friend. I can talk to her about anything. I can hang out with her and have actual fun. We laugh at the same things. We think a lot of the same things. It's overwhelming when I think about how much I actually appreciate her. She's a great mom. She's not perfect, but hey, I'm nowhere near a perfect daughter. She's as close to perfect as a mom can get. So, if you have someone, a mom, dad, grandparent, teacher, or anyone out there who cares about you, helps you, guides you, and looks out for you, recognize the beauty in this and tell them how much it means to you.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Hey guys! Today I thought I would share with you my favorites of the month of June. I've been home for the month of June and have slowly acquired some new favorite things of the month, since I have a lot of extra time on my hands. There is not really any category for these favorites, so here we go!

1. The gym. This month I have been focusing a lot on exercising and going to the gym every single day. I don't really know what I am doing there, but every morning I work out for 40 or more minutes on the elliptical, cycling machine and treadmill. I've been trying to do a lot of cardio to lose some extra pounds and to try and shape up my legs. Working out has made me feel a lot better about myself and made me more positive.

2. Hamilton. I hope this is not too pretentious of me, but I have definitely been loving the music from the musical Hamilton. I bought the CD and play it almost every time I drive. Check out track numbers 17 and 22 on the first CD!

3. Making plans. I've found that it's very easy to sink into a routine of staying home all day, watching television or movies and finding time slipping quickly away until it is night and the routine is repeated. Therefore, I've been trying to make plans as much as possible with friends in order to both keep busy and to spend time with them, since friends are a huge part of what makes me happy.

4. Outdoors. This is a more recent favorite. I have recently realized that the outdoors make me very very happy and are where most of my best memories take place. I've been doing some hiking, exploring in nature and just being outside during this month of June and it's been a lot of fun!